ACTION hero Gerard Butler fears directors are putting him through too much hardship because he is willing to do most of his own film stunts.

The Scots A-lister, 38, nearly drowned when he disappeared under a boat off the Australian coast as his Nim’s Island co-star Jodie Foster watched in horror.

And on his next blockbuster, Game, musclebound Gerard ran a gauntlet of 200 explosions because the director wanted to film close-up shots. Butler, from Paisley, refused a body double for the scenes and is prepared to put himself on the line for his films.

In Nim’s Island he plays a scientist who moves to a deserted paradise after the death of his wife. But it wasn’t easy for Butler on location as he spent most of his scenes lost at sea and at risk of drowning.

He said: “All of us were put through the mill. It just became a joke. I didn’t realise exactly how much time I would spend in the water, and most of my boat stuff was done at sea.

“We filmed in Australia during the winter and I was already sick with a chest complaint. Then I end up in this freezing ocean water where I thought I’d definitely get pneumonia.

“I was soaking wet for most of my scenes and the sea was bloody choppy. A few times my entire body went under the main tour ship we were using for the cameras. The current began to take me out and you couldn’t hold on to anything.”

Butler – best known for Sparta epic 300 – recently finished working on Game, a futuristic thriller in which he plays a top-ranked warrior in an online gaming contest.

He found himself engulfed in automatic weapon fire and multiple big bangs. Butler said: “I probably had to run through 200 explosions.

There was a massive one right behind me and of course I’m wearing sleeves rolled up and not much else but the fatigues protecting me.